FAQ

The purpose of this engagement is to seek your feedback on the draft Active Ageing Strategy.

Community feedback on the draft Strategy is critical to ensuring that we’ve captured the key priorities and actions to meet the need of our community as they age, both now and into the future.  Your feedback will be considered in refining and finalising the Strategy which is to be presented to Council in October 2015.

The environment in which we live - the physical and social infrastructure, neighbourhoods, buildings, services, facilities or opportunities to be involved – impacts on all of us. The social and built environment affects our health and wellbeing and this becomes more significant as we age.

An Age Friendly City and Community is one where people of all ages can live healthy and independent lives for as long as possible, and remain in a secure and supportive environment that enables them to participate in the community as they grow older. 

The Age Friendly City initiative was launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2005. It was created in response to the rapid ageing of the world’s population and the increasing numbers of people living in cities. The WHO initially partnered with 33 cities around the world which collaborated with older people, their carers and service providers to determine the features of the urban environment that help, or hinder, active ageing. There are now over 200 cities and communities who have partnered with the WHO to become age friendly – and this number is growing.

The City of Unley became the first South Australian council to join the WHO Global Network of Age Friendly Cities and Communities in 2012.

The World Health Organisation defines ‘active ageing’ as “the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age”. Active ageing starts when we are very young. The circumstances we encounter and the choices that we make during our lives will impact on our quality of life when we are older. The healthier we are we reach old age, the better our quality of life. An age friendly city helps people to maintain their health throughout their life course by providing the physical and social infrastructure that supports active ageing. 

An age friendly city benefits everyone, not just older people. Neighbourhoods that are safe for older people are also safe for children. Footpaths that are free from obstructions help parents with prams, or younger people with disabilities, as well as older people, to move around freely. The entire community benefits from the participation of older people in paid or voluntary work. Housing that can be adapted to people with all levels of ability will ensure our neighbourhoods are sustainable for future generations. By viewing a community through an age friendly lens, city planners, residents, businesses, service providers and visitors can help create a city that is friendly for all ages. 

The City of Unley has developed the new Active Ageing Strategy to replace its Ageing Strategy, which expires in 2014. The new Age Friendly Strategy will focus on creating an Age Friendly City by supporting and encouraging active ageing, ensuring the city is accessible for everyone, promoting health and wellbeing and providing opportunities for connection and inclusion for all members of the community. 

Both globally and locally we are experiencing great social change - people are living longer and in better health.  By 2013, the number of South Australians aged 65 and over will double and, for the City of Unley, over 30% of these people are likely to live in lone person households.  

Additionally there is a transformational shift in the way our people wish to grow older - we are reinventing “ageing” and what it means to grow older. 

This will have increasing impacts on our City - our people will expect improved infrastructure and urban design to increase mobility and accessibility, more reliable and comfortable transport, adaptable housing options that enable them to continue to be a part of their community, activities and programs to support social connection, enjoyment and life long learning, improved health care and social support services, increased choice and options and seek more opportunities to participate, contribute and be heard.  This requires a new approach to all that we do, ensuring our policies, programs, services and facilities are best positioned to meet this demand.

The Strategy is presented in 3 parts:

• Part A – providing an Introduction and Context
• Part B – outlining the Vision, Aim and Guiding Principles
• Part C – detailing the 9 key focus areas for Active Ageing for the City of Unley.

An indicative Action Plan has also been developed that outlines specific initiatives which will enable us to achieve our objectives, along with key performance indicators to measure the success of our Age Friendly endeavours.

The Vision

The City of Unley is celebrated by our community as a great place to grow older.  We provide meaningful opportunities for access, inclusion, wellbeing and participation for all

The Guiding Principles

• Age is a Celebration – changing our thinking that ageing and longevity is a significant achievement that should be celebrated
• A Rights Based Approach –acknowledging that people should be treated with respect and dignity and have the right to exercise self determination
• Age Inclusive – our Strategy and action benefits people of all ages within our community
• Whole of Life – we aim to meet the needs of people in our City through their entire life
• Ageing in Place – providing for the needs of our people so they can remain in the City as long as they wish
• Building on our City’s Strengths – acknowledging our existing strengths to enhance the quality of life in our City.
• Building on our People’s Strengths –acknowledging older people have a lot to give and their increased participation benefits the whole City.
• Choice – where possible providing options to further support our people to make their own choices about how they live and adapt their lives
• Co-Design and Partnership – commitment to working with our community and key partners to achieve this vision and implement initiatives that have real and lasting benefit.

The 9 Key Focus Areas

1. Outdoor Spaces and Buildings – includes Footpaths, Buildings, Lighting, Signage, Parks & Gardens
2. Transportation – includes Public and Community Transport, Taxis, Driving, Mobility Devices & Cycling
3. Housing – includes Development; Affordable Housing; Residential Aged Care & Downsizing
4. Social Participation – includes Events & Activities, Venues; Technology &  Reduce Isolation
5. Respect and Social Inclusion - Respect for Older People & Social Inclusion
6. Civic Participation and Employment - Engagement, Paid Employment & Volunteering
7. Communication and Information  - Customer Service, Communications & Information for Older People
8. Community Support & Health Services – includes Supporting Independence & Health & Wellbeing
9. Active Ageing Leadership       

The City of Unley already undertakes a range of initiatives that supports our community to positively and actively age.

We provide various direct community services which are important to promoting health, including: community transport, Home and Community Care (HACC) services, community centre-based programs, youth development, library services and support programs for residents in Supported Residential Facilities (SRFs). Community programs are also supported through access to the use of Council facilities and the provision of community grants.

Our Council support events, which contribute to promoting vibrant communities. Safe and accessible infrastructure is a high priority in planning physical environments for health and mobility.

Council staff already have close working relationships with a number of aged care providers and community and government agencies. There is also an extensive range of health providers in the region.  The Plan therefore seeks to build upon existing Council achievements and the initiatives of other agencies.

As well as consulting widely, the City of Unley will establish the Active Ageing Alliance, comprised of representatives of older people, service providers and council staff to monitor the implementation of the Active Ageing Strategy. This will be a long-term partnership to ensure the views of local people continue to be considered as the City of Unley moves towards becoming an age friendly city. 

Add about the Service Alliance and the key Actions?

An extensive engagement initiative was undertaken in 2014 to inform the key priorities within the Active Ageing Strategy.  Over 200 people provided valuable feedback and insight that was used to develop the Strategy.  Overall those who participated were positive about growing older, with key strengths, weaknesses and opportunities noted and included in the Strategy and Indicative Action Plan.

It would be great to hear your views!

There are a number of ways you can get involved.

You can:

• Review our draft Active Ageing Strategy
• Read the Literature Review for information about leading practice examples of Age Friendly Cities
• Read the Community Engagement summary of comments received via our first stage of community engagement
• Complete the online survey below to share your thoughts on the proposed Strategy or
• Provide a response via hard copy survey, available via our online document library, via our Customer Service Centre, our Community Centres and libraries 
• Ask us a question using the Q&A tab

Your feedback will be recorded and considered by the project team in the finalising the Active Ageing Strategy. 

This information is proposed to be presented to Council for endorsement in October 2015.

We are looking for willing and enthusiastic residents to join our Active Ageing Alliance.  This citizens group will be critical in assisting us deliver our Active Ageing Strategy actions and work with the City of Unley team to identify Active Ageing priorities to be undertaken each year as well as provide advice and be involved in a range of initiatives being implemented, ensuring we maximise our Age Friendly outcomes in all that we do.

If you are interested in joining this group, please contact Celine Luya on 83725440 or noting your preference on in the forum.

Other than via the Your Say Unley engagement page for this project you can also find out more information by contacting the City of Unley's General Manager Community, Megan Berghuis, on 83725111 or mberghuis@unley.sa.gov.au